1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a straddle type vehicle in which a fuel tank is covered with a tank cover molded in accordance with the outer shape of the fuel tank.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there is a motorcycle in which a fuel tank is covered with a tank cover (see JP-U-Sho 53-82618, for instance). The tank cover disclosed in JP-U-Sho 53-82618 is molded in accordance with the outer shape of the fuel tank and is bent inward (toward the transversal center of the vehicle) as it comes to the lower part.
However, a conventional tank cover such as that described above has the following problems:
(1) A tank cover that is bent inward as it comes to the lower part, as disclosed in JP-U-Sho 53-82618, is difficult to mold in one piece. In some cases, the tank cover is divided into separate right and left pieces that are molded separately, and then put together to make a whole tank cover. However, when covering a fuel tank in which a filler opening is provided on an upper part with a tank cover formed from separate right and left pieces, there is a problem in that misalignment often occurs between the positions of the filler opening and an orifice provided on the tank cover for exposing the filler opening. In other words, when a fuel tank having a filler opening on its upper part is covered with a tank cover, a semicircular cutout for exposing the filler opening must be formed in advance on each edge of the right piece of the tank cover (“the right cover”) and the left piece of the tank cover (“the left cover”). An orifice for exposing the filler opening is then composed by matching the right and left cutouts. However, due to production errors generally observed on the fuel tank and its cover, it is difficult to position the cutouts on both the right and left covers precisely relative to the filler opening.
(2) Also, in a vehicle where a fuel tank strides over the body frame in the rear of the handlebar, it may be desired to dispose some components of the vehicle (electrical components such as regulator and battery, for instance) below the fuel tank. However, since the position of a lower edge of a conventional tank cover corresponds to the position of a lower end of the fuel tank, the tank cover is insufficient to cover the area below the fuel tank. Thus, components below the fuel tank are conspicuous, resulting in the problem of impaired external appearance of the vehicle body.
(3) Further, when the fuel tank is disposed above the engine, heat emitted by the engine flows toward the fuel tank. If the fuel tank is disposed in this position and is covered by a conventional tank cover described above, heat flowing into a gap between the fuel tank and the tank cover is a problem.